– Following Adrian Neville’s NXT World Championship victory at the “Arrival” live special on the WWE Network, the company made some slight modifications to the belt. Instead of the traditional WWE logo on the side-plates, the side-plates on the belt now feature the WWE Network logo.
– WWE’s official Twitter account tweeted out the following photo of Tennessee’s own Jerry “The King” Lawler working as a special guest referee at this past weekend’s WWE live event in Jackson:
– As seen on RAW last night, there were two pretty noticable mistakes from the commentary team during the show. First, Michael Cole plugged the free week trial for the WWE Network as starting last night at WWE.com. He later corrected himself. Second, Jerry Lawler mentioned that Betty White had switched her tea with Road Dogg’s cup in the backstage vignette, when it was actually Billy Gunn. Lawler corrected himself as well.
– WWE veteran William Regal noted via his official Twitter account that Mexican wrestling star Cassandro was backstage at Monday’s RAW in Los Angeles, California. Regal tweeted the following:
Nice to meet Cassandro El Exotico tonight in LA.Mexican Wrestling’s Danny La Rue.Lovely fella with a great story. pic.twitter.com/zlrmt1WsMM
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler made his in-ring return for Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW) on Saturday night. Lawler defeated Shawn Patrick in a singles match with his trademark piledriver.
– WWE Diva Natalya recently noted on Twitter that WWE Shop is about to reveal her first-ever t-shirt. Natalya thanked the fans and gave them the credit for making it happen.
– Former WWE Diva and TNA Knockout Lisa Marie Varon (aka Tara, aka Victoria) celebrates her 43rd birthday today. Varon was born on February 10, 1971.
Reports of Fans getting kicked out and CM Punk signs being taken away. NO!
CM Punk CM Punk took his ball and went home. The longest reigning WWE champion in the Modern Era, seemingly quit WWE last week after a meeting with Vince McMahon. We are now in the age of the crowd hijack, so as expected chants rang out and signs for CM Punk were all over the place. rang A CM Punk sign was viable with in the first few seconds of the Raw preview. My biggest fear was that this was going to take away from Daniel Bryan, and It did. Omaha isn’t a big market to begin with, and I feel energy was wasted chanting CM Punk’s name. CM Punk may have left for “the right reasons” but I fear that now Daniel Bryan has to share the spotlight with the absence of CM Punk. Time will tell. NO!
The Authority, Randy Orton I’m sick of Randy Orton and The Authority segments. I’m sick of Randy Orton. I’m sick of Triple H, who comes out to a moderate pop because, of course he is a very big star, and when you have Randy Orton out there whining and complaining, anything is better than Randy Orton. Stephanie McMahon saying “I can’t believe I’m saying this, Daniel Bryan might be the new face of the WWE.” Randy Orton will take on Daniel Bryan in a non-title match later tonight. As Triple H throws his hands in the air mimicking the yes chant. Michael Cole saying that he was leading the fans in the chant, nice try Cole. This segment could have been a 2 min promo backstage, it was a waste of time, and I was bored. NO!
Jerry The King Lawler with weaker content than BNB. NO!
Bad News Barrett & Jerry Lawler Wade Barrett, with a useless generic heel post superbowl “you stuffed your faces” corny promo. Yelling and screaming. Out of no where Jerry Lawler is on a mic cutting off Wade Barrett with the weakest retort I’ve ever heard from Jerry, saying “I have some bad news, maybe you won’t be here next week.” Crowd was just as confused as I was. That was it? Terrible NO!
The Shield vs. Rey Mysterio, Big E. Langston & Kofi Kingston Roman Reigns busted open the hard way in this match and required stitches after the fact. He will truely be a big star in the very near future, and it’s exciting to see him work. Dean Ambrose tagged Roman at the last moment to get a pinfall victory on Big E. Langston, after Roman did all the heavy lifting. This will further increase tension amongst The Shield, which is fine, but why does the Intercontinental champion have to take the fall? Can’t Kofi or Rey lay down? WWE continues to make their secondary champions look weak. However since Dean did get a pin-fall victory over Big E. perhaps this could set up a unification between the US and IC Championships, which needs to happen. After the Match The Wyatts cut a promo on the RawTron as the Shield looked on. YES!
Road Dogg should have caught Cody, but the match was a YES!
WWE Tag-Team Titles: New Age Outlaws (c) vs. Goldust & Cody Rhodes (Steel Cage Match) I enjoyed the tag team re-mach in a steel cage. However why in a match that has no disqualification would there be a requirement to tag in an out? #WWELogic I suppose. Cody Rhodes climbed the cage to deliver a moonsault much like The Moonsault he did In Madison Square Garden. However he missed, and I dont’ think he was supposed to, I think Road Dogg botched this move by not getting out in front of him. Billy Gunn would have been there to deliever his finisher if Cody hit the move, and the result would have been the same. I was fully expecting a Golddust beat down in the cage, so kudos to WWE for not being predictable. YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
– WWE announced at last night’s live event in St. Louis that they will return to the Scottrade Center on April 28th for a live RAW. The pre-sale password is STLRAW.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler will face his son Brian “Grandmaster Sexay” Christopher on January 30th in Memphis, TN for the Southern Heavyweight Classic tournament. The event takes place at Minglewood Hall and starts at 7pm local time.
– NXT Diva Emma made another appearance in the crowd of last night’s WWE SmackDown, once again holding an “EMMAtaining” sign. She tweeted:
Ryback is at it again. On Monday’s RAW, Jerry Lawler joked that if Ryback was in an elevator, he wouldn’t know which direction an elevator goes if you gave him two guesses.
Ryback then responded on Twitter with a remark about Lawer’s ex-wife, former WWE Diva Stacy “The Kat” Carter:
“So apparently I do not know which way an elevator goes if you gave me two guesses according to Jerry Lawler. I can tell you one thing. If I was in an elevator with The Kat it would definitely be going down. Ryback Rules”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler appeared on the WREG-3 local television show in Memphis recently to discuss the health scare he experienced this past Monday in Baltimore, Maryland.
Lawler told the hosts of the show that he went to lunch with his girlfriend and his stomach was feeling “queasy” before his food arrived. His said his girlfriend contacted his son Brian Lawler (aka Grandmaster Sexay) and told him. After that, the word apparently spread among the other wrestlers in the building at Old School RAW. As a result of the word getting around, Lawler was sent to the local hospital for a medical evaluation.
Lawler then said that despite it being revealed that he was battling a minor stomach flu, Vince McMahon made the call to pull him from television commentary that evening as a precautionary measure.
“The King” also mentioned that there ended up being even more fan concern due to the fact that he did not appear on the Old School RAW show. He said it was merely a 24-hour virus that his girlfriend is now battling.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about Monday’s Old School RAW:
Piper’s Pit: “Thought it was one of the better Piper’s Pit segments that we’ve seen over the past few years. Succinct, cut to the chase content, etc. Nice rub for the Shield. Roddy endorsing Punk did nothing but good as well.”
Brock Lesnar’s Segment With Mark Henry & Big Show: “No issues with Lesnar/Henry/Show but for anyone to think that Lesnar is as hot right how as he needs to be isn’t looking at Brock through honest eyes. His absence was long and Brock wasn’t red hot when he left. The former WWE and UFC champion is an amazing talent but he’s got little traction from where I sit and needs to promoted aggressively and soon if he’s expected to sell PPV’s at WM30. The good news is that it can be done.”
Daniel Bryan & The Wyatt Family: “I’m still confused as to where the Daniel Bryan/Wyatt Family storyline is headed. I’m trying to like it as I’m a big fan of all the men involved in the equation but I don’t know much more about their relationship or issues than I knew last week. As a fan, I needed a little more concrete info or a viable tease from these four men than I was provided.”
Jerry Lawler’s Health Scare: “Good to hear that Jerry Lawler is fine after Monday’s health scare. Sounds as if King had a stomach virus or food poisoning but NO heart issues Monday in Baltimore. I hope to have a conversation with King this week if he can work me into his busy schedule. It’s not easy being a combination of a superhero and Larry Flynt. :)”
Jake Roberts’ Surprise Return: “The final surprise of Jake the Snake Roberts was a good surprise. Jake looked good and he was well received. Via @DDPYoga and making smart, personal decisions, Jake has gotten himself healthier and the alternative if he had continued to travel his former road was bleak.”
– It was announced at Old School RAW that at this week’s WWE SmackDown, the main event will feature the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton in singles action against the WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E. Langston in a non-title match.
– WWE Superstar Batista responded to comments made by Alberto Del Rio at Old School RAW via the following tweet on his official Twitter account:
So I hear Alberto Del Rio is talking trash. Just one question… Who the hell is Alberto Del Rio?!!!
The official WWE website has added a video interview from backstage at Old School RAW. The interview features Josh Mathews interviewing Jerry Lawler live and in-person about the rumors of his health. The article notes the following:
JERRY LAWLER GIVES A HEALTH UPDATE: WWE APP EXCLUSIVE, JAN. 6, 2014 (2:00)
Jerry Lawler addresses the rumors that circulated about his health and gives a update on his well being. To get a first look at more exclusives like this, check out the official WWE App!
Following the video package promoting Batista’s WWE return at the January 20th edition of RAW, WWE announcers Michael Cole and JBL revealed that Batista is confirmed as a participant in the 2014 Royal Rumble match.
Also on RAW, while Jerry Lawler was not in attendance to do his usual commentary, Michael Cole and JBL did say that his condition was not as serious as it is being reported on the internet. They then plugged the WWE App for updates on his condition.
According to WrestleZone.com, WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler has been released from the hospital and is back at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, the site of tonight’s Old School RAW show.
As previously noted, Lawler’s son Brian Christopher, who is at Old School RAW in Baltimore tonight, noticed that his dad looked ill and informed WWE about this. WWE then encouraged Lawler to check himself into a local hospital, where he received blood work.
No word as to whether or not Lawler will appear at Old School RAW tonight as originally planned.
As previously reported, WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler was hospitalized on Monday in Baltimore.
According to an article on MemphisPort.com, Lawler had some blood work done and is now doing fine. The report claims that Lawler is still in a Baltimore hospital and there is no word as to whether or not he will be at Old School RAW tonight as originally scheduled.
For more information, check out the article at MemphisPort.com.
Breaking news coming out of Baltimore, Maryland – site of tonight’s WWE RAW.
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler has been hospitalized.
Lawler was vomiting and experiencing chest pains this afternoon and it quickly became clear he needed urgent medical attention.
The news comes from a reliable source who is backstage at RAW right now.
Jerry Lawler suffered a heart attack on September 10th, 2012 during a live episode of WWE RAW from the Bell Centre in Montreal.He underwent an angioplasty the following day to improve blood flow to his heart and returned to the ring just 8 months later.
Update (5:40pm EST): Kevin Cerrito of Memphisport.com is reporting that Lawler had blood work done at the hospital and is now “doing fine.”
WWE has added the latest edition of The JBL & Cole Show to their official YouTube channel. The 58th episode of the show, which can be viewed below, is accompanied by the following description: “In this edition of The JBL & Cole Show, the guys along with Renee Young take a tour of the Jerry Lawler Museum in Mississippi, The King himself shows up in his Bat Mobile, and Renee Young announces the start of a MAJOR investigation.”
– According to The South Florida Business Journal, former WWE Superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is having a $4.5 million home built in Broward County, Florida. Check out the full story online at BizJournals.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler noted on Twitter recently that he spent his New Year’s Eve at Hogan’s Beach in Florida. Lawler tweeted the following photo of himself with Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart:
As noted previously, WWE Hall Of Famers Bret “The Hitman” Hart and “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, along with Christian and former WWE Diva Eve Torres are all scheduled to return during the Slammy Awards on next week’s live edition of WWE RAW. The following is the awards that they will be presenting:
– Shawn Michaels will present the “Superstar of the Year” award.
– Bret Hart will present the “Match of the Year” award.
– Christian will present the “This Is Awesome Moment of the Year” award.
– Eve Torres will present the “Total Diva of the Year” award.
As noted previously, the Slammy Awards will be hosted by WWE Hall Of Famers Jerry “The King” Lawler and Booker T.
– The official hosts for the Slammy Awards on next Monday night’s edition of WWE RAW, which will also serve as the WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs “go-home” show, will be WWE Hall Of Famers Jerry “The King” Lawler and Booker T.
– For whatever this is worth, which probably isn’t much, Paul Heyman is being advertised locally for next week’s edition of WWE RAW. It should be pointed out that Heyman was also advertised locally for RAW this past Monday night in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and never appeared.
There was a pretty big error during the conclusion of the Divas Elimination Match at Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view involving both the commentary team and the ring announcer.
Near the end of the match, the Survivor Series broadcast team of Michael Cole, JBL and Jerry “The King” Lawler consistently referred to Natalya as the only member of her team remaining in the match. Nikki Bella, who was outside the ring selling, was actually still active in the match. Natalya ended up putting AJ Lee in the Sharpshooter to gain the win for her team, and was announced as the “sole survivor” of Team Natalya.
After the match, Lilian Garcia announced Natalya as the sole survivor, as did the announce team, when in fact Nikki was a survivor as well. Later in the show, Michael Cole acknowledged the fact that they had made the mistake, and informed fans that both Natalya and Nikki Bella survived in their match.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler, who famously feuded with late comedian Andy Kaufman in Memphis, has commented on this week’s news story that Kaufman’s brother (and a woman claiming to be his daughter) said that Andy is actually alive and faked his own back in 1984. Lawler told CNN:
“I would like nothing better than to know that Andy was still alive and been with us all this time. But like anybody else, I really don’t know any more than what I’ve heard. It could be a great hoax in his honor, dreamed up by his friend Bob Zmuda and his brother, Michael. That would be something that would be in keeping with Andy’s tradition, but who’s to say. It could really be legit.”
– CM Punk has been announced for the Wizard World Portland Comic Con from the Oregon Convention Center on January 24th, 2014. He will be appearing from 3:30pm until 7:30pm.
– Chris Jericho will be co-hosting Sunday’s episode of The Wedge on the Much Music channel at 10am EST.
– After the televised portion of RAW ended on Monday, the babyfaces remained in the ring. CM Punk raised JBL and Jerry “The King” Lawler’s hands and went back into the ring. At one point, Goldust convinced Punk to reenact Roman Reigns “fall incident” from one of this past weekend’s WWE live events. All the babyfaces eventually made their way to the back, except for Punk. Punk got back on the microphone and said, “I just wanted to say that to come here and wrestle and perform in front of you is a humbling experience. You’ve been fantastic all night and there’s only one thing I can say, thank you.”
– The following are some off-air notes from Monday’s taped edition of WWE RAW in Manchester, England:
Several signs were confiscated during the show. Security at the show warned several fans for holding their signs up on the hard-camera side too much, including one that read “Stink-Face Me AJ.”
At one point during the main event, CM Punk told the fans that they are “the best motherf**cking crowd ever.”
There was a “fight” in the crowd between a fan dressed as Kane and another fan dressed as Goldust. Arena security eventually sent them on their way. Here’s video of the fans wrestling outside the arena after the show:
– A YouTube user has recently uploaded some leaked behind-the-scenes WWE footage. Below are the videos. The first video features Josh Mathews, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz and Big E. Langston preparing for a segment on the WWE App.
http://youtu.be/Z4fvuREjf70
– The second video features WWE announcers Michael Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler and JBL preparing for the WWE RAW broadcast from Greenville, South Carolina.
The following are highlights from the latest online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On Jerry Lawler not being mocked in his hometown on RAW: “The King got out unscathed in his home town. That somewhat surprised me and, just thinking out loud, I wonder if WWE missed an opportunity to help a villain IE Del Rio have more momentum for this Sunday’s HIAC PPV? It better serves the returning John Cena to face a hot antagonist.”
On how fans perceive John Cena: “Find it humorous that on my Twitter feed @JRsBBQ that those that did not like Cena before he was injured STILL don’t like John even after viewing the videos. Without question Cena is amazingly polarizing but also, without question, John Cena is the biggest star in WWE, like it or not.”
On the in-ring product on Monday’s RAW: “The in ring product last night was solid and enjoyable for the most part. Any one who thinks that WWE, or any one else, can have three hours of great, TV rasslin and it all be really good needs to be drug tested. That’s not going to happen any time soon. I honestly don’t think that’s possible at this time in the business.”
“Ambrose vs. Bryan was a really, nice match. Bryan provided his fans ‘hope’ while Ambrose taking a clean loss gives him something to bitch about and to plot for his retribution. Great selling and near falls which are two essentials of any good, pro wrestling bout.”
“Orton vs. Ziggler was another good bout that Orton needed to win and Ziggler provided the ‘shine’ for that outcome. Another loss that did not destroy Dolph who has proven to me that he is one of WWE’s top talents. Many fans are growing impatient of Ziggler’s current status on the card but all he can do is continue to out perform as many of his opponents as he can on a regular basis and his time will come. That’s akin to HBK being considered only a tag team wrestler and never any thing else for years until Shawn got into one on one bouts and, over time, became a show stealer.”
On Paul Heyman’s promo on RAW and the Punk/Heyman feud: “Paul Heyman’s promo was the best verbal presentation on the show but that can be said more often than not. Heyman knows how to be an antagonist and how to facilitate fans to dislike him. Villains who purposely make fans laugh are erroneously produced in my view. Bobby Heenan could pull it off but ‘Wease’ was a genius and he did not have writers providing his material.”
“Certainly feel that the Heyman-Punk personal issue is nearing a definitive end. I guess we will find out on Sunday. I’m not sure where else it can go involving the two especially as it relates to Punk giving Heyman the long promised physicality that Heyman’s TV persona deserves.”
On HBK’s performance on RAW and how WWE ended the show: “Thought HBK was effectively utilized in Memphis and much better than the week before. I tweeted @JRsBBQ last night asking if RAW would end the night with ‘hope’ or ‘heat’ and the answer obviously was one of ‘hope’ as the overachieving, underdog Daniel Bryan…along with the Big Show….left the live audience on a high and hopefully, for the talents and WWE’s sake, the motivation needed to purchase the HIAC PPV this Sunday.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com.
-One of the key reasons Wade Barrett has not been featured on WWE television or at WWE live events in recent weeks is due to the fact that he is back in England dealing with visa issues. As noted previously, Barrett recently returned to action with the company during their current live event tour in Mexico.
-The new Rey Mysterio DVD produced by WWE is scheduled for a release in 2014.
-For those wondering, it indeed was Vince McMahon who made the call for Jerry “The King” Lawler to mention the “Goldberg” chants on Monday’s RAW and tie it into the current “Ultimate Goldberg Collection” DVD that was released by the company this week. Whether or not more transpires as a result, remains to be seen.
The following are highlights from the latest online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On the Rhodes Family storyline: “Loved the Rhodes Family in ring interaction Monday night and am amazed at how it is to still easy to create a meaningful, personal issue if it is largely based on logical and common sense.”
“This vehicle will hopefully elevate Cody Rhodes to the next level when all is said and done and I expect Sunday’s tag bout vs. The Shield to be really good. If it isn’t, then all involved have missed a great opportunity. The table is set.”
On wanting Daniel Bryan to win at WWE Battleground: “I saw an online poll where 70+% of those voting hope that Daniel Bryan wins the WWE Title Sunday. I’d agree. The underdog can only remain an unsuccessful underdog for so long until the fan base begins to slowly migrate away and to someone who they feel can achieve the success the fans crave.”
“No one in the biz is better at this time, bell to bell, than Daniel Bryan plus his promo work has greatly improved over his tenure in WWE. Bryan’s time is now, to steal a phrase from John Cena.”
On Sunday’s WWE Battleground PPV: “Perhaps Sunday will be a PPV that WWE performers will enhance their own professional sense of urgency and raise their games no matter their role or the time in which they have to appear on the main stage. I’d like to see more talents take a firmer grasp on the ownership of their own personas and, please, don’t tell me that has every thing to do with their ‘push.’ It doesn’t.”
“WWE Battleground Sunday on PPV is a crucial event for WWE to build momentum and to forward some very crucial storylines. Next up then is the Survivor Series and then it will be Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 30 before you know it. It’s crunch time for game planning.”
On the current WWE RAW announce team: “I have great admiration for the RAW announce team, they are all men that I respect and consider to be friends. Michael Cole does what few men, if any, in the lead role could do in today’s world of sports entertainment. Cole’s responsibility to decimate info and the amount of info is startling. Could JBL be more of an antagonist? John could for my taste but John is a great addition to the broadcast team with his intelligent and topical references. The King is The King….a WWE HOFer. However, when these men are encouraged to talk about matters that are unrelated to any significant to what I’m seeing on the screen it becomes a disconnect for me. If I am watching the TV and my eyes are processing what I am seeing but audibly I am hearing another story then which source of info do I process and retain?”
“I know times have changed since my ‘heyday’ but I feel, rightly or wrongly, that some fundamental matters don’t change. When the video and the audio combine to create that memorable ‘tag team,’ then a sports entertainment/pro wrestling broadcast creates ‘moments’ and lasting memories. Actually that goes for any entity including NFL and UFC.”
On Joey Styles’ appearance on the Steve Austin podcast: “The Steve Austin podcast with Joey Styles is very good. I’d strongly suggest that you check it out. Steve’s podcasts are one of the highlights of my week. If you haven’t checked them out you’re missing out on some great stuff. Joe was really entertaining on part one of his time with Austin. Steve’s interview skills are evolving excellently.”
On writing an autobiography: “Beginning to go through years and years of notes, especially from my time with Bill Watts and in WWE as I casually prepare to think ‘autobiography.’ This book getting done is largely dependent on the ‘Deal’ and me having the final say on the edit. I never realized that I had SO many notes from meetings, telephone calls, emails, etc so I assume that me being a ‘data hoarder’ isn’t such a bad thing now. Many yellow, legal pads to sift through.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com.